Alexis marveled at the view of the ocean around her as she stood next to Aster on the deck of his yacht. Somehow, the main ferry between the island and Domino City didn't do sea travel the same justice as the fluid motions of Aster's boat that made it feel as if they were effortlessly gliding across the waters.

"Nice, isn't it? The auto pilot controls on this thing have never disappointed me even after over a year now. We should reach the city in about half an hour. Want to come inside for a bit? I could show you the control room and some other things." Aster offered.

"No, that's okay." Alexis answered a little too quickly.

Aster chuckled lightly at Alexis' reaction. "Just what are you so afraid of? The furniture? Well, it's fine. It's not like I'm used to having guests, anyway. I really only asked in case you start feeling sick out here. It's not for everyone as much as they might believe sometimes." He said.

"So, do you always stay here after classes? I mean, how does this even work? I thought that everyone had to stay in the dorms." Alexis inquired curiously.

"I do have a room at the Academy. It's just more convenient to stay here." Aster said simply.

"What's your dorm?" Alexis asked.

Aster raised an eyebrow, slightly offended by Alexis' question. "Do you even need to ask? It's Obelisk, of course. Where else do you think they'd put me? Slifer? Come on. I'm too good to be anywhere else." He said arrogantly.

"Well, based on your attitude, you definitely belong in Obelisk. It's not all about dueling, you know. After all, Jaden defeated you and he is in Slifer." Alexis pointed just to take a shot at Aster's ego.

"Alexis! Do you have to remind me of that!? I was trying so hard to forget that painful experience…" Aster said in a mock dramatic fashion, causing them both to laugh a little.

"You're right; it's not all about dueling. Duel Academy's bigger on the standardized testing than anything else. I'm just one of those rare individuals who excel at them both." Aster said knowingly.

"Let me guess? A perfect score for you, Mr. Childhood Prodigy?" Alexis asked wearily.

Aster simply smiled and nodded his head, causing Alexis to roll her eyes good-naturedly. She was starting to realize that it was easier to simply not fight Aster's ego instead of challenging it too much.

Xxx

Once they reached the mainland and were walking along the city streets, Alexis noticed that Aster had become a bit more self-conscious of their surroundings. He stuck closer to the side streets near the alleyways, trying to move quickly while not drawing any attention to himself. It looked as if he was used to doing this.

It must be a pain to have to worry about getting held up by a bunch of people everywhere you go. Alexis thought to herself as she tried to keep up with Aster. The last thing they needed was for him to have to stop for an autograph signing session since Alexis knew all too well that Aster always took time out for his fans if they spotted him.

Eventually, Aster stopped walking. "Here we are." He said as he pointed to a modest-sized second story shop. The sign next to it read, "Arcana Tarot Readings".

"How are we supposed to get in? It says its closed." Alexis asked as she pointed to the sign behind the doorway.

"Like this." Aster said. He took a small key out of his pocket and quickly unlocked the door with it. Alexis then followed him inside.

Once the door was shut and locked behind them, Alexis looked around the room. It looked to be a typical fortunetelling goods shop. The shelves and tables held objects such as crystal balls, tarot card sets, jewelry, and other items that would fit right into the category of what Seto Kaiba would have labelled as, "hocus pocus nonsense".

Aster and Alexis approached the small counter with the cash register to find an open notebook laying on it. Aster frowned as he flipped through the contents. It was mostly a jumble of pricing totals and a bunch of scattered reminders about things like inventory deliveries and other business-related chores. He noticed that the further he went into the book, the less organized the notes became. They would simply say things like, "Check five for Thu.", "Last day for reduc", and one that completely baffled Aster that simply said, "Re flush at Y.D.S". A small hand-held calendar next to the notebook was messily covered with cross off marks and circles.

"Looks he fell behind with this place." Aster said.

"Couldn't Sartorius have just hired an assistant to help him run things?" Alexis asked skeptically.

"He could have, but Sartorius isn't too trusting when it comes to outsiders. Normally, his sister helps him with the store. But it appears that she went for an extended training expedition this time. I haven't been able to reach her. Or Sartorius." Aster explained.

"Training?" Alexis asked curiously.

"Yeah. It's a meditation-type focus that Sarina goes somewhere up in the mountains for. She can see visions of the future like Sartorius. But she has a different way of drawing predictions from them." Aster explained. He walked into a hallway leading to a backroom as he spoke, motioning for Alexis to follow him.

"You don't really expect me to believe this, do you? I mean, anyone can just claim to be psychic. But being to see the future seems a bit far fetched, if you ask me. How do you know this is real?" Alexis asked doubtfully.

"Because they have been right about too many things that have happened to me before they have even happened. It doesn't matter if I'm told in advance or not. And that has especially turned out to be right when it comes to duels. Almost every time Sartorius has drawn this card, The Chariot, I have won a duel." Aster explained as he picked up the card in question from the pile on the table.

Alexis didn't know what to say. She gazed around the room carefully, noticing how blindingly bright the overhead lights shined. There was a little too much light in the room.

"This room didn't always used to look like this." Aster said as if he had read Alexis' thoughts.

"Was it always this…white?" Alexis asked as she looked at the walls.

"No. You should have seen it before back when there were all these trees and roots painted on the walls. Sartorius always said it helped him to "ground his energies" better. Always cracked me up. But all of this was done not too long ago. Now that I think about it, it wasn't that long before I started at Duel Academy…" Aster said.

"Maybe we'll find something upstairs. Come on." Aster said after a few more moments of uneasy silence.

Xxx

Once they were upstairs in the apartment area of Sartorius' store, Aster almost found himself wishing that they had decided to leave instead. The living room was a complete mess. Clothes, books, and other miscellaneous objects were scattered haphazardly around the room. Even worse, the hanging plants were either shriveled up or dying from lack of water.

Aster and Alexis stepped into the kitchen. What a mistake. The sink was overflowing with dirty dishes, and judging by the remains on them, Aster could even tell exactly what had been served for breakfast on some of them.

"Geez, Sartorius. There's a little thing called sanitation." Aster said to himself as he shook his head in disgust.

"And here I thought my brother was the biggest slob in the world… What happened here!? It's not like transfer students have to leave on a short enough notice to not have time to do a few household chores. This is disgusting." Alexis complained.

"It's never been like this before whenever I came over. Believe me when I say that Sartorius was the type of guy who went so far as to color code his wardrobe. Being able to predict the future made him feel as if nothing else could be left to chance either. But all of this makes me think that coming back home isn't a priority for him anymore." Aster said somewhat sadly. He opened the refrigerator and casually took a bottle of water from it.

Alexis had been staring at a framed photo that she had found resting on one of the shelves nearby. It was a picture of Sartorius, Aster, and a beautiful dark-haired woman that she guessed must be Sarina. There was a sharp difference between the expression of the Sartorius in the photo to the one she had seen at Duel Academy. While this one wore a serene smile, Alexis always thought that Sartorius himself could have borrowed a jack 'o lantern and carved his own twisted grin into it to make it look right at home during a Halloween celebration. Aster also seemed a bit different in the photo as well. He wore an easy, relaxed smile with his arms folded casually in his lap. His expression and body language said that these were people that he felt comfortable and safe being around. This was his family.

"You come here a lot, don't you?" Alexis asked carefully as she watched Aster open the bottle of water and drink from it. There was a casual familiarity to his actions in this place.

"I used to. I've known Sartorius and Sarina since I was just a kid. They're like family to me. They didn't have any friends growing up. People were terrified of their ability to predict the future, so they were always looked down on or worse. For a long time, they lived on the streets. Every day was a battle just to survive… Even when they tried to hide what they knew about things, it was too easy to let it slip that they were different since they were relying on their abilities for everything." Aster explained sadly.

"That's horrible… But you were different. Why? What did you think when you found out the truth about them? You weren't afraid?" Alexis asked curiously.

"No. I was actually pretty fascinated with it all. Ever since my father was killed, I was always obsessed with wondering just how I might have been able to change things so that nothing would have happened to him. Being able to predict the future sounded like the answer I was looking for. A way to control things so that nothing bad would ever happen again… And that's how we started to become friends." Aster explained.

"What about now? Do you still like it?" Alexis asked.

"Not so much anymore once I realized just how helpless it could make you feel. I used to think that knowing things ahead of time would prepare me for anything. But all they really did was prepare me for things that I had no choice against to begin with. Heck, Sartorius could even predict when I decided to switch to a new toothpaste. And I got so sick of worrying about whether he would say that I would lose a match." Aster said wryly.

"But you know that everything is not set in stone already. We have seen Sartorius be wrong before!" Alexis argued.

"One time doesn't mean that much to me after everything I've seen. But I will admit that I grew a little too dependent on Sartorius' predictions for a long time. I don't know how much it will change anything, but I figured that not asking him about anything anymore is at least a start in the right direction." Aster admitted.

"All of this has really been hard on you, hasn't it? No wonder you acted like that about the duel today. You just didn't want to lose anyone else you knew to…whatever everything that is going on right now is. I'm sorry, Aster…" Alexis apologized softly.

"Don't be sorry. You didn't know about everything. It's true that I don't want to lose anymore friends. But I could have been less hard on you about it." Aster said.

"Well, then everything should be fine between us as long as we're explaining things to each other like you are right now." Alexis said with a reassuring smile.

"I couldn't agree with you more." Aster said quietly as he smiled back at Alexis.

Xxx

A couple hours later, Aster and Alexis left Sartorius' place and sailed back to the island. Even though they had not been able to find any real clues about the Society of Light or any of Sartorius' plans, Alexis was still glad that she had gone with Aster today.

"Thanks for everything today, Aster. I'm glad that I came with you today. I feel like I understand a lot of things better now. And even though I don't know how the duel would have ended, I really am glad that you stopped it when you did…" Alexis admitted.

"Oh? Does this mean you are taking back what you said earlier about not being grateful for what I did?" Aster teased.

"Yes. I admit that I was wrong. And you enjoy being right too much for your own good." Alexis said shortly. She was grateful that it was too dark outside for Aster to see how red her face had become.

"You're just too much fun to tease, Alexis. That was one good reason to stop that duel." Aster said mischievously, causing Alexis to groan in exasperation.

For a few minutes, neither of them said anything to each other. They simply stood side by side in comfortable silence as they looked out over the harbor. Then, without warning, Aster turned to face Alexis. He delicately tucked a loose strand of Alexis' hair behind her ear, his fingers just barely tracing over her face. Alexis felt as if she had forgotten how to breathe properly. Before she could react any further, Aster placed both of his hands firmly on her shoulders and drew her closer towards him. He then started kissing her.

The kiss this time was a lot different from their first time. Instead of the urgent lust that had guided his actions at the lighthouse, Aster was taking his time. He kissed Alexis slowly and deeply, his lips pressing softly against hers until she let out a small sigh of pleasure. Aster took that opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. Soon, Alexis was returning the kiss in the same fashion. Their tongues glided lightly against each other, feeling more like a gentle caress than the fierce battle they had shared before. Alexis felt like she was slowly sinking into a pool of pleasure. The kiss was so heady and deep that she wouldn't have been surprised if she had lost her own footing without Aster's hands now firmly secured around her waist. One of his hands drifted back to Alexis' arm and started to gently rub the bare skin on it, sending jolts of pleasurable electricity to her nerve endings there. It was all too wonderful.

After what felt like forever, Aster and Alexis broke apart naturally from their soft, sensual kiss, gasping for air.

"Why did you do that!?" Alexis asked accusingly once her brain was finally capable of forming rational thoughts again.

"Because we both wanted to. You can't deny that." Aster replied simply.

"Whether I liked it or not isn't the point here, Aster! I told you that I only wanted us to be friends!" Alexis protested.

"We are friends." Aster said.

"Friends don't do what we just did." Alexis said firmly.

"Who says that they can't?" Aster challenged.

"We haven't even known each other for about three days, Aster! We shouldn't be moving this fast. It isn't right… And when things like this keep happening this quickly, I just end up feeling more and more confused…" Alexis said helplessly.

Aster paused for a minute before answering Alexis. "Maybe you are confused because you are thinking about it too much. You worry so much about whether it is seen as wrong or right, but I just go by what feels right to me when it comes to the people I decide to let into my life. And to me, it somehow feels like I've known you for a lot longer than three days…" He said thoughtfully.

When Alexis failed to respond, Aster continued to speak. "Look, I wouldn't have done that if you had shown any sign that you didn't want it. But if this upsets you that much, I'll back off for a little bit, give you some time to think. But I'm not a mind reader, Alexis. So, unless you tell me that you don't want me, I'm not going to assume that's true." He said quietly. For a moment, he looked into Alexis' eyes, as if challenging her to admit that she didn't want him. Only he knew that she couldn't do it.

"I- I have to go now." Alexis said, avoiding Aster's eyes.

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow…friend." Aster taunted Alexis as she climbed down the ramp from the yacht. He smiled deviously to himself. He had a feeling that it would not be too much longer until he got everything that he wanted.

Xxx

Later that night, Aster was sitting in his room on his yacht, dialing Sartorius' number on his cellphone for what felt like the millionth time.

"Come on, come on. And oh my god…ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE ALREADY!" Aster shouted impatiently after the fifth ring. He was just about to hang up and call it quits for the night when the ringing abruptly stopped.

"Hello? Hello!?" Aster asked impatiently. He knew that Sartorius was there because of the light breathing on the other end of the phone.

"Aster. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I knew that you would be upset about what happened today." Sartorius said in his now-usual emotionless tone.

"You're damn right I'm upset! Why are you brainwashing people into this Society of Light cult, Sartorius!? It's sick and wrong, and you know it!" Aster raged.

"I know that it does not make sense right now. But everything will be revealed in due time, I promise. I am simply going by what has been foretold to me. And there is no point in trying to make any sense of it right now like you tried to during your little trip to my house today with Ms. Rhodes. Did you think that I did not know about that, Aster?" Sartorius said.

"Hmm, let me guess. Did you foresee it, or did you just notice that I stole a bottle of water out of your fridge?" Aster asked sarcastically.

"I did not foresee that you would end Ms. Rhodes' duel today. She had been destined to join the Light. What you did should not have been possible…" Sartorius said almost to himself.

"You leave her out of this! I wasn't about to let her fall into your freaky little cult, and I won't let you guys try anything else with her either!" Aster warned Sartorius furiously.

"Aster, you don't understand what your actions today have caused. Because of your interference, there has been a shift in destiny's plan for you. If you do not end the path that you have chosen to follow with Ms. Rhodes, you will be placing yourself in grave danger. You must end this now while you still have the chance!" Sartorius urged.

"And just what is this "grave danger"?" Aster asked suspiciously.

"I…cannot say. Just know that I would not be trying to help you go against the Fate's will if there was another way. So, please listen to me." Sartorius begged Aster.

"You know what? No. Fuck Fate, fuck your predictions, and fuck your Society of Light. For the first time in a long time, I have something good in my life, and I'm not going to let you or anyone else ruin it for me. If I've already changed things once, then I just won't let whatever you think will happen come to pass either. I don't know why you've changed like this Sartorius, but we're done. I don't want to talk to you anymore, and you're fired as my manager starting today. So, unless you're willing to start shaping up and end this whole Society of Light garbage, I'm afraid that this conversation is over." Aster said firmly. He then ended the call before Sartorius could say anything else.