Brick88: Thank you for reviewing! :) Of course, I won't say anything, I don't want to spoil what the content of the envelope is… ;)
Kim Nanoha: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :)
This chapter's loosely inspired by 'Heart Of Ice Part 1'.
I only own my OC's!
Third Person's POV
Sartorius wasn't pleased at all. In fact, 'wasn't pleased' could be considered as an understatement. He hadn't been this furious since the foolish girl tried to steal the satellite's controls. No matter what he did, he still wasn't able to activate the satellite as he had wanted to.
First, his other self stopped him from doing so. Then, the girl barged in. Although her theft attempt failed, she still managed to get one key. Since he needed all four of them to activate it, he then sent her cousin after her to get the key back. That failed too.
Then another attempt failed, because of his other self and a stupid cat. When he started thinking of how else to get the key back, Sarina suddenly reappeared on his laptop and tried to reason with him… Even though he was angry with her disobeying him, he had more important business than to deal with her. That was why he threatened her to make her leave him alone.
The next morning, something even worse happened. When he walked into the main room, he immediately noticed the other three keys missing from the table.
Sartorius knew who was behind the missing objects. That was why he marched right to the mirror in his bedroom, feeling more anger every second.
"I'm only going to ask this once… WHERE ARE THE KEYS?!" He growled at his reflection. The reflection, on the other hand, didn't even flinch. In fact, a somewhat triumphant smile appeared on its face. "I can assure you that they're in the right hands." The reflection replied calmly.
"THEY'RE WHAT?!" Sartorius demanded furiously. The reflection looked back at him, not flinching at all. "YOU FOOL! DO YOU HAVE ANY CLUE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" The man clenched his right hand during the tirade. "They're in the right hands." The reflection repeated, not bothered by his ire.
A growl escaped from the man's mouth. "You're as much of a fool as that girl…" Sartorius trailed off bitterly, curling his right hand into a fist. "THOSE KEYS ARE MINE! WHO HAS THEM?!" He then demanded yet again. What made him even angrier was the reflection's nonchalant attitude.
"Why, the Chosen Duelists, of course. I knew I wasn't strong enough to fight you, so I gave them to someone who is…" His other self replied simply.
A frown appeared on Sartorius' face. As angry he was, there was something fishy about the whole thing…
His other self had given those keys away so he couldn't use the satellite to destroy the world. He didn't want anyone to be harmed. Especially not the girl, since he knew that Sartorius was after her… Then that meant… He didn't want to think like that, but it was highly possible. His other self cared about the girl's safety after all…
With a scowl, Sartorius walked over to one of the drawers and opened it. He quickly started looking through it… Only to see that the envelope wasn't there. He had left it inside, and hadn't opened the drawer since then!
"WHERE'S THE ENVELOPE?!" The man demanded furiously, walking back to the mirror. "In the right hands." His other self repeated, a triumphant smile appearing on his face yet again. "You gave it to her, didn't you?" Sartorius glared, realizing that was most probably what happened. "How could you do that?!" He then shouted.
If it weren't for the dorm's good insulation, then probably everyone would have woken up from his shouting by now. Sartorius didn't want to stand out, and his current actions was the exact opposite of it… But he was too furious to care at the moment.
Finding out his remaining keys were taken was bad enough. But then his other self just had to take the envelope as well… And give it to the last person he ever wanted to get her hands on that thing!
"Now you can't harm Serena either." The reflection replied firmly. But, at that moment, his image disappeared as Sartorius punched the mirror violently, breaking it in process.
"Both of you are fools…" He let out a growl, pulling back his left fist. He then looked at it. It had just healed from his stab wound, and was now bleeding yet again… His eyes then moved to the shards of the broken mirror on the floor.
He had to get those keys back. He wanted to get the envelope back too.
"When I'm through with Jaden and Aster, they shall see the Light… And those two fools will regret taking my possessions." Sartorius declared with a smug smile, just as his body started glowing with white light.
Serena's POV
I looked at the stick in my right hand with a frown. My eyes then landed on the envelope lying on the table.
What happened last night was quite weird… I still wasn't sure what exactly happened. Apart from Sartorius appearing and giving me those two things. I had no idea what that light in the sky was… The sky itself looked quite unusual! It didn't last for long though. About five minutes after I had seen it, the light was gone…
Knocking on the door broke my train of thoughts. "Who is it?" I asked while getting off my chair. "Open up, cuzo!" Ben's voice could be heard from the outside. He sounded as if he were in some sort of hurry, I had to note.
I opened the door. My cousin and Jaden were standing right outside. "You have it too?!" The former's green eyes suddenly widened to the size of saucers. "What?" I asked in both surprise and confusion. "That thing in your hand!" Ben pointed at my right hand.
My eyes darted to the stick I was still holding in the hand. "Si… A bit crazy-sounding story, but I have it." I admitted, not knowing what else to say at the moment.
Why was he so surprised I had that stick with me? And what was that 'you have it too' supposed to mean?!
"Sartorius has been to your room as well?" Jaden asked in surprise. "Wait, Sartorius came to your room too?!" My eyes widened. "Was he in your room or not?!" Ben jumped in between the two of us with a frown on his face.
"He was," I looked up at him with a nod. "And from what I hear, he was in yours as well." I then reminded. "Yeah." Jaden nodded while rubbing the back of his head. "Look, just… We'll explain it to you in a minute." Ben then spoke up, motioning towards where the renovated part of the dorm was with his right hand. I simply nodded before quickly walking inside the room to take my boots and the envelope.
"So that white light appeared in your room too?!" I repeated surprised while we were walking into the renovated part of the dorm. Syrus, Bastion and Hassleberry were already there, sitting.
Ben nodded. "That's what woke me up in fact. Apart from Jaden kicking me with his leg in ribs." He then added with a sigh, just as we sat down.
Jaden let out a sheepish laugh. "Sorry, but you do the same to my face…" He pointed out. "He has a point." I agreed, remembering how he had told me about that once. "That room was never meant for more than three people." Ben concluded with a groan. "Hey, just chill out! At least we're together!" Jaden pat my cousin's back cheerfully. "Fair enough." He agreed.
He then looked up at me. "Anyway, I then woke up Jaden. We had no idea what was going on…" He rubbed the back of his head. "That's when Sartorius appeared and gave me this," Jaden took something out of his blazer's pocket. "And he told me never to give it back to him." My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at the thing in his hand.
It was the same stick like the one I had, and the one he had given to Aster…
"He really gave you that?" Syrus asked surprised. "We told you." Ben nodded. "Those two didn't notice it?" I raised an eyebrow while looking at Hassleberry and Syrus. My cousin shook his head. "They weren't sleeping with us last night. They spent that time with Bastion at the Ra Dorm." He explained. "Oh." I nodded.
"What's that in your hand?" Bastion suddenly asked, his grey eyes landing on the envelope I was holding. The moment he said that, the rest of the guys looked at me. "Yeah, you promised to tell us what it is…" Ben reminded. "I will." I nodded.
"I couldn't sleep at all last night," I then started. "When that light appeared in my room too. Sartorius then appeared, and gave me those two things," I lifted up the envelope in my right hand and the stick in my left one. "Telling me not to give them back."
All of the guys got a bit closer so they could see the envelope. "Can I see it?" Bastion asked. "Yeah, but don't open it." I replied, giving it to him. "Why not?" Ben raised an eyebrow at me. "Sartorius told me not to." I explained with a shrug. "But why give it to you then?" Hassleberry demanded in confusion. "Beats me." I shrugged yet again.
"Maybe we should open it." Ben suggested. "I told you 'no'." I reminded a bit annoyed. "How else will we know what's inside?" He demanded. "Sartorius said we should never open it." I retorted. "He also tried to kill you." Syrus noted with a frown. My head whipped around to look at the shorter guy. "He also said 'never open it', which means there must be a good reason." I growled. "And how can you know that?!" He demanded. "Chill out, you two." Jaden jumped in between us. "Sy," He looked at his best friend with a smile. "There must be a reason she was told not to. I believe her." "You always do." Syrus retorted, sounding somewhat offended at the same time.
To be honest, it confused me… There was something else in his tone I couldn't put my finger on.
"While it would be nice to see what it is, it's smarter not to open." Bastion spoke up, giving the envelope back to me. "Yeah, we'd better just drop it." Ben let out a sigh, finally agreeing. "From what I could sense, I think some cards are in there." The British guy added with his arms folded.
That was when the door opened. All of us looked up to see Aster walking into the room.
"What's up, Aster?" Jaden greeted cheerfully. Aster opened his mouth, only to be stopped from saying anything. "Sartorius was at your room too?" Ben asked randomly. All of our heads turned to him immediately. Aster raised an eyebrow. "He was at my yacht, yes." He corrected with a frown. "How did you know, soldier?" Hassleberry asked stunned Ben. "I just guessed; I didn't expect him to actually say 'yes'!" My cousin retorted, making me face palm.
"He gave me this." Aster took something out of his pocket. It was the fourth stick… "And from what I see, he gave them to you too." He then pointed out, his blue eyes landing on Jaden and me. "Yeah." The former nodded. "Any idea what those are?" I spoke up. "Sartorius referred to it as a key while giving it to me." The professional duelist explained with a frown. I immediately looked at the object in my hand a bit confused.
A key, Sartorius said? Couldn't he have also told us what those keys were for?
"A key…" Jaden trailed off in surprise. "And there are four of them from what I know." Ben reminded, making Aster nod and take out the other key from earlier. "But what are they for?" Hassleberry spoke up. "I don't know…" The professional duelist frowned. "The Prince gave them to Sartorius along with the controls to the satellite." I reminded.
A frown appeared on Bastion's face. "Since they came along with the controls, I think it would be logical to assume that they serve for activating them." "Are you sure?" Ben glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "That satellite is a high-technology weapon. There needs to be some mechanism to activating the controls." He presumed.
"What you're trying to say is that those are the keys for activating the satellite?" I spoke up, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. "They could be." He nodded. "Don't you think this conclusion is a bit too quick?" I asked. The more they said, the more my discomfort grew…
"We can't know for sure, but it's not impossible." Aster spoke up. "Think about it. You said yourself they came with the controls." Bastion reminded. "What did they look like anyway?" The silver-haired guy then asked, looking directly at me. "What?" I spoke up surprised. "You tried to steal the controls. Out of all of us, you're the only one who managed to get a better look at them." "Yeah, until Sartorius walked in and pushed me, making me drop them." I reminded with a frown.
The professional duelist shook his head. "It doesn't matter, you saw them nonetheless." He pointed out. "He does have a point." Ben agreed, with Bastion nodding.
I frowned, trying to remember what I saw in Sartorius' room back then. Thankfully, I had luck with that.
"When I walked in," I started with my arms folded. "The case was wide open. The controls looked rather complex… I think there were even four holes around the edges." "Were they about the size of keys?" Bastion asked. "I can't say for sure. My attention went back to keys I accidentally stepped on." I waved it off. "What?" Ben spoke up surprised. "Two of the keys were lying on the floor by the time I came in." I explained shortly.
"That means we can basically guess whether those holes were meant for keys or not." Ben let out a groan. "I think they were. It's way too coincidental." Bastion noted with a frown. "Whether it is or not, we need to keep those keys safe." Aster spoke up, looking at Jaden and me yet again.
At that moment, feelings of dread washed over me. If those really were the keys to that satellite… I didn't even want to think about that possibility. I wanted no part in this. The last time I tried to do something, I only caused trouble, and got hurt in process… Why did Sartorius even give me this thing?! It only made me a bigger target, since I was basically useless already! Jaden and Aster should deal with this, while I should stay out of it!
"Take the key." I walked up to Aster and offered it to him. "Why?" He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "You were right back then. I should just stay out of this. The last time I tried to help, I caused damage." I replied impatiently, trying to shove the key into his hands.
"Serena, don't. We're all in this." I could hear Jaden saying. "No," I turned my head to look at him. "You and Aster are. You're the 'chosen duelists' as Sarina had said." I reminded. "You're part of this too." Aster noted with a frown, making me turn my attention back to him. "Yes, but as a target. She asked you two to help. I'm useless." I responded firmly.
However, Aster kept refusing to accept the key for some reason.
He had made it clear I should stay out of it… So why was he suddenly refusing to take this thing?!
"Cuzo, those are possibly the keys to the satellite's controls." I could hear Ben saying. "So what?" I turned my head in his direction with a frown. "If they are, and if Sartorius decides to want them back like before, then Jaden and Aster will be targets as much as you." "And even if they aren't, he may still want them back. He went mad when you tried to steal them, remember? He sent Ben after you to get that key back." Bastion reminded.
That was when Aster pushed the key back into my hands gently. I looked up at him in surprise.
"Sartorius gave the key to you for a reason, just like he did to Jaden and me." He said simply. I stayed quiet, just looking in his blue eyes and not understanding the reason behind his sudden change of mind. However, I tightened my hold around the key.
"What are you going to do about the fourth key?" I finally spoke up, deciding to change the subject. "Having two keys at once makes a person a bigger target…" Ben noted. "And Serena already has the envelope too." "What envelope?" Aster gave me a curious look.
I lifted up the envelope. "He gave it to me along with the key." I explained briefly. "What's inside?" His eyebrows furrowed. "Bastion thinks there are some cards." I shrugged. "Why not open it to see what it is?" The guy asked with a raised eyebrow. "Sartorius told me to never open it." I replied. He looked at me questioningly but didn't comment further on the subject.
Instead, he looked at Jaden. "Since she has those two things, then that leaves two of us." He pointed out. "One of us can carry it at the time, and then swap." "Sure." Jaden nodded at the suggestion.
That sounded reasonable enough… Then people wouldn't know how many keys one of them was carrying.
"That settles it then." Aster said simply. "See you around." With those words, he suddenly headed out. I was staring at the door for a few moments.
No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't understand that guy…
I walked outside as fast as I could.
Third Person's POV
During his time at the Duel Academy, Aster Phoenix has somewhat warmed up to Jaden Yuki, and his friends.
However, there was one person he's been having mixed feelings about for quite a while. He was aware of those mixed feelings. Yet, at the same time, he considered it a bit weird.
Out of all people, Serena Accardi was in a position most similar to his. Out of all people here, she was the one he could be able to partially relate to. Just like him, Serena knew Sartorius more than anyone else did on this island. From what he knew, her relationship with him was different, but it existed nonetheless.
While he didn't meet her until recently, Aster had heard about the girl before.
When he was six, and when his father disappeared, he was adopted by a professional duelist Kyle Jables. Since the man always traveled, he would usually leave him locked inside the building. That was around the time he met Sartorius. The latter was allowed to keep him company whenever his foster father was absent.
Aster appreciated every moment. He hated being alone. However, Sartorius would sometimes leave earlier, or not come at all that day. Whenever Aster asked why, he would tell him he had to look after a girl, since his sister was not able to. He never heard her name. Whenever he asked about her, she would be mentioned in a good light though.
As he grew older, his foster father became less protective, and started spending more time with him as well. Aster remained friends with Sartorius though, and would always visit him whenever he was on a break from his job as a Professional Duelist.
About a year ago, Sartorius even offered to become his manager. Aster was overjoyed and agreed to it immediately. He cared about his friend dearly, and was happy to get to spend more time with him.
That was, until Sartorius started acting strange… First with having him enrolled at Duel Academy. Second with telling him to go duel Jaden Yuki, and then Serena Accardi as well. The whole thing became even weirder when Chazz Princeton suddenly mentioned the Society Of Light, and Sartorius refused to say more about it…
Aster didn't know what to think anymore, which was why he decided to keep an eye on him.
Once Sarina said the card Sartorius had been given was a 'HERO' monster, Aster made it his mission to try to find it in the tournament. So far, he had no luck…
And then Serena tried to steal the satellite's controls and ended up causing trouble in process… She got herself broken ribs too. Aster really thought her actions were reckless and just foolish. The others didn't approve of it either, even though Jaden tried to defend her.
However, now, he thought he may have overreacted a bit by telling her to stay out of the whole thing. Sure, what she did was stupid… But it sounded like she had been in a lot of panic. On the other hand…
She was like him. Just like him, she had had her suspicions about Sartorius' strange behavior. However, she tried to explain it as insanity at one point… Just like him, she was a part of this, albeit as a target instead. She was also related to his father's good friend. One part of him wanted to help her in some way, which was why he told her those things in Domino City. Yet…
For a while, the other part of him felt slight disinclination towards the girl. Earlier, he hadn't been sure why, since he barely knew her. Now, he thought he had an idea. He wasn't sure whether it was true, but it made sense…
He heard about the girl many times, albeit in an indirect way. That happened whenever Sartorius had to go, claiming he had to look after her. After that, he would stay alone, which he hated more than anything. He sometimes wondered who she was, and the thought of her made him feel a bit of envy. Knowing she wouldn't be alone whenever he was left alone instead…
Now, after finally getting to meet the girl… He guessed his younger self's negative feelings were still present, which was why warming up to her was harder than with the others.
"Aster, wait!" A voice shouted, just as he was about to walk downstairs. He turned his head around to see Serena walking out. "Yes?" The professional duelist raised an eyebrow. "Why did you change your mind all of a sudden?" She asked with a frown while walking up to him.
"What are you talking about?" He demanded. "First, you wanted me to stay out of this, and now you're just fine with me being a part of the whole thing…" The redhead trailed off with a frown. Aster looked at her for a few moments, not saying anything.
He still had mixed feelings about the girl. At the same time… She was the niece of his father's former colleague, who had always been nice to him. When he was younger, Sartorius had always mentioned her in a good light. Heck, again, they were in the same situation right now!
She couldn't be that bad, could she?
At that moment, Aster decided to push those mixed feelings aside and try to talk to her.
"I may have overreacted a bit." He said simply. "Besides, you knew too that what you had done was stupid…" He then trailed off, folding his arms.
Serena raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. "Well, yeah, I got what I deserved with those stupid ribs…" She trailed off in a bit of embarrassment while playing with the deck box strapped to her waist. "How long until they heal?" Aster gave her a questioning look. "About five weeks." She said with a shrug.
It was quiet for a few moments.
Serena's POV
When I wanted to ask Aster about his sudden change of mind, his response was not what I expected. I didn't expect him to say he may have overreacted a bit…
Both of us were quiet by now. It was a bit awkward silence…
"Why do you think Sartorius gave you that envelope?" Aster spoke up, looking up at me, and then at the envelope in my right hand. "Your guesses are as good as mine. I'm not exactly sure what happened last night either." I shrugged. "Why?" He tilted his head a bit to right curiously.
"I don't know whether you had seen the light in the sky…" I trailed off a bit hesitantly. "I did." The professional duelist nodded simply. "Well, I don't know what it was." I explained with a frown. "Do you maybe know?" I then looked up at him.
Aster kept looking at me for a few moments. "When he gave me the key, Sartorius described it as the light of misfortune that will bring the end of all living beings." He finally spoke up. I wasn't going to lie, his words surprised me…
'The light of misfortune that will bring the end of all living things'? What was that supposed to mean?!
The Society was obsessed with Light… But how could light do something as Sartorius had said? This was quite confusing…
"I don't understand." I admitted. "I don't understand it either." Aster replied with hands in pockets of his suit. His eyes briefly went in the direction of the sky, before landing on me again. "You said you're trying to find out more about the force from that card?" He asked slowly. "With no luck." I responded honestly.
"I mean, I know the general, that it's obsessed with Light, that it's white just like the light from yesterday…" I then elaborated, just as we started walking downstairs. "What makes you think it's 'obsessed with Light'?" The guy have me a slightly questioning look. "Everyone talks about it all the time. They're acting as if Light is something sacred." I explained with a brief eye-roll once we stopped in front of the dorm.
A frown appeared on Aster's face. "And you still haven't found anything?" "Nope." I shook my head. "Magic, physics, it seems like not even damn astronomy can help me…" I started counting on my fingers.
"What if 'being obsessed' is not the case?" "I'm afraid I don't follow." I raised an eyebrow a bit confused. "You said the force is obsessed with Light. What if that thing is something similar to the light itself?" Aster elaborated. "What makes you think that?" I queried. "When you weren't brainwashed, Sartorius claimed no one could resist the power of the light."
I remembered that moment quite clearly… He was quite surprised I wasn't brainwashed for some reason.
"Sorry about that, don't know why my head hurt so much." I spoke up coldly. Sartorius' eyes widened. "No one can resist the power of light…" He trailed off with a growl.
Now I knew what Aster was implying. If it were true, it would make sense… Why else would Sartorius claim no one resisted the power of light? If I resisted it, and the others didn't… Everyone from the Society worshipped the Light after all…
"What you're trying to say is that you think the force itself is similar to Light, rather than obsessed with it?" I repeated, wanting to make sure I understood it. He nodded.
That possibility was definitely something to think about…
I opened my mouth to say something else, when someone pulled me by my arm harshly.
"Hey!" I exclaimed in protest, feeling pain from the person's strong grip. "This will be quick and painless if you obey me." A familiar voice spoke up in a sadistic tone. My eyes widened as I looked up to see Aunt Maria smiling sinisterly. "What do you want?" Aster demanded with a frown.
"Not much. Just that envelope and the key she had stolen earlier." Aunt Maria spoke up, her light brown eyes landing on objects in my right hand. She then tried to take it from me, but I put the hand behind my back. "I won't give it to you!" I cried. "Serena, dear, don't make this more difficult." I shook my head and tried to break free to no avail.
Seeing she wasn't going to let go of me, I tried to stomp on her foot. Unfortunately, Aunt avoided moved both of her feet out of the way. "Your trick with Sartorius won't work on me." A smug smile appeared on her face.
"Mum, stop it!" Another voice made me look away from her. Ben and Jaden ran up to where we were. The others were not too far behind. The look on Ben's face was pure shock and horror. This was the first time he saw Aunt since we left for the Academy…
A frown appeared on Aunt Maria's face. "Stay out of this, Benjamin." She growled. "Please, just let go of Serena." He gave her a pleading look. "I told you to stay out of this." She repeated more icily. "What do you want from her?!" Jaden demanded with a frown. "You obviously don't understand what 'stay out of this' means." She looked at both of them with a somewhat annoyed look on her face.
"She wants the key and the envelope!" I told them, making Aunt Maria grab my left arm even more harshly. It wasn't as strong as Sartorius' to give me bruises, but it hurt nonetheless…
"Give them to me now." She growled. "I told you that I won't." I retorted, trying to ignore my increasingly fast heart rate. "And I won't leave until I get them." She responded icily. I looked up into her cold, light brown eyes.
I hated seeing my aunt like that. I thought I had got used to it from the first time… Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. I had to do something…
"If you want them, then you'll have to fight for them." I declared with a frown, looking straight into her eyes. "What?!" I could hear the others' voices of surprise. "I challenge you to a duel." I spoke up firmly.
Aunt Maria's eyes landed on the arm behind my back. "Do you really think you stand a chance against me?" Her voice seemed to be filled with some sort of amusement.
Frankly, her words scared me a bit. I never dueled her, and from what I knew, she was quite skillful… She got my deck by winning a tournament after all! However, I decided to push those thoughts away. I'd rather lose than run away like a coward from my own aunt!
"If you don't want to duel, you can forget about the keys and the envelope." I retorted angrily. "So it's a hard game you want to play…" She trailed off sinisterly. "Serena, don't!" I could hear Ben saying. I turned my head to look at my cousin, who was in between Aster and Jaden. "Ben, it's obvious she won't take 'no' for an answer." I pointed out.
"But, if she wins, then she'll get those things…" "Let's trust Serena on this one." Jaden suddenly told him, with Aster nodding. "Fine…" Ben trailed off after a sigh. I grinned before looking up at my aunt yet again.
"So, what do you say? You want to duel or not?" I demanded. "If I win, you'll give me the key and the envelope?" She asked slowly.
I wasn't exactly willing to give them to her… One part of me kept thinking of ways not to give them in case I lost. However, if I said 'no', then she wouldn't duel… I had to take that risk.
I nodded. A sinister smile appeared on Aunt Maria's face. "Then the victory is already mine." She spoke up smugly. "You haven't started the duel yet." Aster noted with a frown. "It doesn't matter," She looked in his direction for a few moments.
However, what she said next made me freeze.
"Because once she feels the wrath of Unliving Nature, she'll regret ever suggesting this duel."
First, Happy New Year to everyone! Second, yes, a cliffhanger. I think you all can guess what's coming up next… And I can't wait to write it!
I hope you liked it and until next time! :)
